The Way of Women

by Lauraine Snelling

  “I need to set you down.”

  Lissa shook her head and buried her face in her mother’s neck.

  “Here, I’ll hold the clipboard. Is she injured?”

  “No, just very ill.”

  “Flu?”

  “No, leukemia.” Mellie scribbled in the information while Carol tried to hold the clipboard steady.

  “Poor lamb. Is there anything we can do to help?”

  Find my husband? Turn back the clock? Mellie signed her name. “We just need a place to stay. My neighbor, who brought us down, had a heart attack and is in the hospital, or we’d have gone on home again. I’m sorry to be a bother.”

  “Now, never you mind. We’re all in the same boat here. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, so if you want to wash up, the bathrooms are over there.” She pointed to the rest room signs down the hall to the right.

  “Thank you.”

  “And you can set your things on two of the cots, wherever you want.”

  “Carol, do you know where …?” someone called from across the room.

  Carol waved at the questioner. “I’d better go see what they need. As if I know any more than the others.” She tsked her way back across the room, leaving smiles and comfort in her wake.

  Minutes later Mellie held Lissa in her lap during the meal, encouraging her to eat tiny bits, the food tasting like dust to her.

  “Come on, you like spaghetti. Take another bite.”

  Lissa, watching the two giggling children across the table, opened her mouth and took the food.

  “You two behave yourselves now.” Their mother tapped the older on the shoulder. “And don’t you spill nothin’.”

  The boy slurped a string of spaghetti into his mouth.

  Lissa half giggled.

  The boy dug out another long strand, this one flicking him on the nose in a last-ditch effort for freedom.

  Lissa laughed, a sound that brought a smile to her mother’s mouth. Lissa used to laugh and dance and run like all the other kids they knew. Mellie kissed the part in Lissa’s hair and smiled. Which encouraged the boy to more antics, which caught his mother’s attention, which earned him a thump on the head.

  “I warned you …”

  “But, Mom,” the round-faced daughter put in. “He made the little sick girl laugh.”

  The woman handed her son a napkin. “What’s your little girl’s name? Ol’ spaghetti face there is Andrew and”—she patted her daughter’s head—“this is Bitsy, ’Cause she was so little.”

  “Tell them your name,” Mellie whispered in Lissa’s ear.

  “Lissa Marie Sedor.”

  “That’s a pretty name.”

  “Better’n Bitsy.” Andrew poked his sister.

  “Andrew Scott Bellamy, if you are finished eating, you may take all of our trays up to the window.”

  “Ah …”

  “Now.”

  He untangled his legs from the bench seating and picked up his tray, and then his mother’s.

  “What about Sissy’s?”

  “Mo-ommm.” The groan on his face made Lissa smile again.

  “You want to come down to the TV room with us? We got a video of Cinderella.”

  Lissa shook her head.

  “She’s pretty tired.” Mellie hugged her daughter closer.

  When the two ran off, Donna, as she introduced herself, leaned across the table. “There’s going to be a story read later, around bedtime, if you want to come listen.”

  “Thanks.” Mellie set Lissa on the bench so she could get up, then scooped her up again. After a bathroom run, they sat back down on one cot.

  “You’re going to have to sleep in your T-shirt. I didn’t bring your jammies.”

  “I didn’t brush my teeth.” Lissa clutched her bunny with both arms.

  “I know. You ready to say your prayers?”

  Lissa dug in the bag and pulled out a book. “Read this first?”

  Mellie complied, having memorized Goodnight, Moon by now. The simple little story was one of Lissa’s favorites.

  “You should have read it to me.”

  “I can’t read.”

  “But you know all the words.”

  “I know. I like … Moon.” She lay still, then turned her head to see her mother’s face. “You think Daddy can see the moon?”

  Mellie fought the instant burning behind her eyes. “I hope so, baby. I sure hope so. Let’s say your prayers, and then I’ll give you your medicine.” Please, God, let Harv see the moon tonight.

  “Now I lay me down to sleep …” After she’d finished the old verse, Lissa continued, “And make my daddy come home again and make Mr. Johnson all better and God please make me all better too. Amen.” She opened her eyes, then clamped them shut again. “And if Jesus isn’t right beside You, please tell Him I love Him lots. Amen.”

  “Amen.” What more needed to be said? Now, if only they would turn out the lights and make everyone go to sleep.

  She’d finally crooned Lissa to sleep when the baby began to fuss again. Lissa whimpered and shifted, a sure sign the pain was back. The medication should be taking effect by now. Mellie, who’d moved their cots close to the wall so she could prop herself against it, stroked her daughter’s hair and murmured love into her skin. How can I continue without Harv? Fear snuck up her legs and squeezed her insides, up around her heart and her lungs so she could hardly breathe. Run. Where could she run?

  Lissa settled back down. The frown smoothed away between her eyes, and her breathing evened. The crying even hurt her skin, making her want to scream. God, please get someone to care for that baby. Poor little thing.

  Katheryn couldn’t get Lissa out of her mind as she drove south on I-5 and exited at Kalama. How could she help them? When she parked in the lot by the motel, she wished she’d been able to find something better, but the thought of driving clear to Vancouver every day was about as appealing as a dunk in the mud-clogged river. Driving this far was bad enough.

  She opened her door with the key, sniffing and wondering about the vile odor. But once inside, it faded away.

  “Hi, Kevin, no messages here, so I’m leaving one for you there. I’m back in my room after a totally frustrating and fruitless day. Everyone keeps telling me to be patient. Carol, the woman at the center, asked me to be a greeter of sorts this afternoon, and that helped the time pass. If I could concentrate on the writing …” She rubbed her forehead. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to sleep better tonight. Tell Susan I’ll call her in the morning. I love you.”

  She hung up, thought about a shower, washed her face instead, and took two sleeping tablets. David, Brian where are you? If you are suffering, God hold you and carry you. If you are in His arms, I am glad for you. I am. She wiped her tears with the bed sheet. But I didn’t want you to go now. I don’t want to—can’t—be alone. I want you here. Oh, God, I want my son and husband back. She muffled her sobs in the pillow, when she really wanted to scream her agony.

  Sometime later someone banging on her door woke her. “Coming.” She stepped out of bed and at the same time realized what a terrible stench filled the room. The backed-up sewer water came to her ankles. She gagged, nearly adding more liquid to the effluent.

  Within a few minutes she was packed and out of there, after washing her feet in an upstairs rest room. The management closed the hotel.

  Groggy from the medications, she drove carefully back up the freeway and into the parking lot of the shelter.

  “You have room for one more?” she asked the man at the door. “In fact, there might be others. Our hotel in Kalama flooded with sewer water.”

  Even he shuddered. “There’re empty cots over on that side of the room. If you want to take a shower first, I wouldn’t blame you.”

  “No, I washed, thanks.” After changing in the rest room, she set her overnight case under the bed, having left everything else in the car, and crawled under the covers. What a night.

  Someone a couple rows over snored loud enough to …
to wake the baby.

  David Sommers, I cannot believe all this. I know you had no idea what could happen, but right now I could strangle you myself. Along with the mother of that child.

  MAY 20, 1980

  When did you come back?” Mellie stared at Katheryn.

  “Middle of the night. The sewer backed up into my hotel room.” She shuddered, making a face. “Walking through sewer water is …” She didn’t bother to finish her sentence.

  “Oh, ick.” Mellie shuddered along with her. “So you came here?”

  “It was here or drive another forty miles or so to Vancouver.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice. “But if that man snores like that again—and that poor baby …”

  “Lissa was up and down a couple of times, but she slept pretty well, considering.”

  “Poor tyke is probably so worn out she’d sleep anywhere. Have you heard anything about Mr. Johnson?”

  Mellie shook her head. “And they haven’t found any unidentified bodies that might be Harv. I keep hoping and praying he is still alive, but …” Her sigh carried all the lost hopes and dreams. “I’ve got to call the doctor today and tell him about Lissa’s fever and fatigue. Guess we’ll have to take the bus home.” Home, how could that house ever be home again without Harv there?

  “Well, let’s get breakfast and then figure some of this stuff out. You want me to bring you some?” Katheryn nodded to Lissa, who slept on.

  “If you don’t mind. I don’t want her to wake up and be frightened.”

  “No problem.”

  Mellie watched Katheryn cross the room. Even her walk spoke self-confidence. She greeted other people around her and laughed at the antics of the two children who’d sat across the table from them at dinner. And yet, she hadn’t heard about her husband and son either. How could she be so cool about it all? If it weren’t for Lissa, I’d … I’d … Mellie swallowed her tears and wished away her fears. Neither worked very well.

  “I hope you slept better than I did.” Mrs. Bellamy stopped beside Lissa’s cot.

  Mellie wished she could think of something to say and could remember the woman’s name. Had she slept at all? She must have. The night passed and she didn’t recall all of it. Even the nightmare that wakened her was only a shadow rather than the specters that so often lurked at her shoulder unless Harv banished them for her.

  “She doing any better today?”

  “Not really. I’m letting her sleep as long as possible.” She’d almost shaken Lissa to make sure she was just sleeping and not unconscious. “Um, I forgot your name.”

  “Donna Bellamy. Can I get you anything?”

  Mellie masked her surprise. Why were people being so nice to her? “Uh, Katheryn is bringing me some breakfast. Thank you, though.”

  “Maybe later Lissa will feel like playing with the kids or watching a video. There’s a box of books over there in the corner along with some toys someone donated. Sure wonder if we got anything to go home to.”

  “Where did you—do you—live?”

  “Up on the North Fork. It was hit the worst. What about you?”

  “We came down from Tacoma to see if I could find my husband. He was driving truck for a logging company.”

  “No word?”

  “No.”

  “I’m so sorry, honey. Leastwise we got all our family, even the cat—Andrew snatched her up as we run out the door.”

  “You’re lucky.” As if luck had anything to do with it. Harv always said you make your own luck, but he also believed that almighty God was in control.

  “I’ll be praying for you to find your husband. What’s his name?”

  “Harv. Harvey Sedor.” Mellie choked on the words.

  “M-mommy?” Weak as it was, at least Lissa was able to talk. “I’m wet.”

  “Don’t you worry none, sweetheart. We’ll get you some clean sheets.” Mrs. Bellamy turned back to Mellie. “You got any extra clothes?”

  “Just what’s in the bag.” Mellie cuddled Lissa. “We’ll go change you and wash in the bathroom, okay?”

  “Sorry.”

  “I know. Sometimes it can’t be helped.”

  When they came back, Katheryn had set a tray on the cot and was folding up blankets and sheets. “You go ahead and see if you can get some food in her while I check to see if anyone has learned anything new.”

  No matter how she coaxed, Lissa kept turning her face into her mother’s shoulder. Mellie ate some toast and scrambled eggs, wishing the two charmers from the night before would come over and make Lissa laugh again—and eat. Feeling the heat in her daughter’s thin body, Mellie knew she’d better call the doctor. Last time Lissa had been like this, he’d ordered a transfusion. But he was in Tacoma, and they were here, and while the distance wasn’t hundreds of miles, anything over a couple blocks was too long if she had to walk it carrying Lissa. Her back ached already, a leftover pain from yesterday.

  “Here, at least drink some milk.” She held the cup for Lissa, who took a couple of swallows before turning away.

  Katheryn sat down on the cot, facing Mellie. “I called the center up in Toledo, but the man who answered the phone said there wasn’t any news for either of us. I thought perhaps I could take you by to check on Mr. Johnson. I can stay with Lissa while you go up and see him.”

  “I could call our doctor from there.”

  “Easier than here. The line formed right after I called. Guess they all figured the offices were open finally.” Katheryn stroked Lissa’s leg. “You need some clothes for her? We could stop at Kmart or something.”

  Why are you being so good to us? Mellie wished she dare ask out loud, but just having someone talk to her like a friend helped keep the horror at bay. Were clothes for Lissa an emergency? Should she ask Mr. Johnson?

  The door opened, and a tall woman with a camera around her neck and wearing a backpack stopped and glanced around the gym. She took a spiral notebook from the pocket of her vest, flipped it open, wrote a few notes, and closed it again. Once the notebook was back in her pocket, she removed the lens cap, which also went in a pocket before moving toward the three children playing with toys in the corner. Watching her walk, the sunbeam catching another in her hair, was like watching a river flowing easy, sparkling in the sun.

  “Orange juice.”

  Mellie leaped to fill her daughter’s request. Only a few sips, but Lissa held the plastic glass instead of giving it back—and drank some more.

  “Mellie?”

  She turned her attention back to Katheryn, who hadn’t seen the woman with the camera. The woman who walked like she was somebody. “Yes?”

  Lissa pulled at her mother’s sleeve. “Mommy, who’s that lady?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Katheryn turned to look over her shoulder. “The one with the camera?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Probably works for a newspaper or something. Reporters keep looking for the stories. That’s their job.”

  “She’s pretty.”

  No, she’s grace in motion. Mellie set Lissa back on the cot and packed their meager things back in the bag. “Get your coat on. We don’t want to keep Mrs. Sommers waiting.”

  Katheryn held the jacket open for Lissa to stick her arms in.

  “Are you a grandma?” Lissa asked.

  “Nope, not yet. But my daughter is going to have a baby. Maybe I can practice being a grandma with you.”

  “Okay. I don’t gots a grandma.”

  Mellie stood and picked up her daughter to perch on her hip, then reached for the bag. Katheryn took it instead.

  “My car is out in the parking lot. I’ll bet Mr. Johnson will be glad to see you this morning.”

  “He’s probably been worrying about us all night.”

  “I hope not. That would be bad for his heart.”

  “I’ll wait out here with Lissa while you go in.” Katheryn reached for the little girl. “You can sit on my lap, can’t you? I need to learn how …”

  “To be
a grandma?” Lissa let herself be taken.

  “Thank you, I won’t be long.” Mellie glanced over her shoulder to see Lissa and Katheryn sit down on the sofa. Thank you, God, for this wonderful woman. Did you send us an angel or something? She pushed the button for the CCU and waited.

  “I’m Mellie Sedor to see Mr. Johnson.”

  “One moment.”

  Mellie studied the instruction paper taped to the wall above the Call button.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson is no longer here.”

  Mellie’s heart stalled.

  “He’s on the second floor, room 210. We transferred him this morning.”

  Relief. She could breathe again. “Thank you.” Returning to the waiting room, she smiled at the two, who looked up from the pad of paper they were playing with.

  “I’m showing Mrs. Sommers how to fold a butterfly.” Lissa smiled at her mother.

  “She’s very good.”

  “My daddy teached me.”

  “Mr. Johnson is down in a regular room now. You can see him too.”

  “We can show him the butterfly. Colored paper would be better.”

  “Maybe we can find some crayons and you can color it.”

  The women gathered their things, Mellie picked up her daughter, and they headed for the elevator.

  When they found his room, Mr. Johnson was sitting up in bed and a young man was giving him a shave.

  “Hi, Mr. J.” Lissa waved to him.

  “We can come back later.”

  “No, no, we’re nearly done here. Don’t go.”

  When the young man left with a smile, they entered the room.

  “We brung you a butterfly, see.”

  “How are you feeling?” Mellie stopped at the side of the bed, holding Lissa as she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

  “Much better. They even had me walk down the hall a door or two. You were at a shelter?”

  Mellie nodded. “Oh, I’m sorry, this is Katheryn Sommers, our angel in disguise.”

  “No angel, but delighted to meet you.”

  They visited a few minutes before Lissa announced, “We’re going shopping, and I get a new pink shirt. And pants.”